Proudly Supporting

Growing research is pointing to what many people on a community-minded path have already discovered – investing in the wellbeing of others leads to improved wellbeing in oneself. And now, new parenting research reveals it is the 'child-centric' parents i.e. those who put their child’s needs before their own, who are enjoying more feelings of fulfillment and happiness from parenthood. Read full article

Jennifer Finney Boylan writes "We want to shield our children, but it's the worst thing we can do." She talks about her son's exchange trip in his senior year to Cape Town, of allowing him to bungee jump and sky dive, and knowing that in allowing our children to take calculated risks we build resilience, "the courage they need when those perils arise." We need to be mindful that when we grapple with how to provide our kids with opportunities to experience calculated risk ... what we are often talking about is less a problem than a product of our privilege. Read full article

Today I read about the short shorts dad. A Utah father tired of his daughter wearing “skimpy” shorts decided to turn the tables on her by cutting up a pair of jeans, and going out on family night in his own pair of “skimpy” shorts. The mom shared the photo of dad in shorts on her blog and of course the story went viral. Dude, what about talking to your kid? Read full article

Do you feel stressed keeping up with your children's after-school activities? Is there a chance they might be "over-scheduled"? A quick video to make parents consider whether their kids have too many commitments outside school. And there's no connection between a child's 'success' and the number of these activities. Read full article

A new study of adoptive families recognises that regardless of whether parents are same-sex or heterosexual couples, greater levels of support for one another and satisfaction with the sharing of parenting tasks are what generate good behavioural outcomes for children. This is an interesting insight for people working with adoptive families and adds to the ongoing conversation about parenting models and what works for children. Read full article

I am loving this – the most common description a sample of Australian parents used for their child is “happy”. How great is that!? I may be biased. But what about the Italians and the Americans? The Spanish, the Swedish, the Dutch?...Apparently American parents have a tendency to talk about their children in terms of their cognitive abilities – their intelligence... Read full article

Opinion: In the fields of gender, sexuality, and sexual health research, it's a no-brainer that sex education should start early, and that sex should be discussed often - both in schools and at home. But instead we talk about storks, cabbage patches, and the birds and the bees. In fact, we have a million and one ways to avoid teaching or talking about sex and sexuality. Read full article

It can be scary watching your children grow up. Not needing you so much in one way but then needing you more in another. It can also be hard to get the balance right. For example your child wants to do more sleepovers or they want to have the freedom to walk to their friend’s house and then perhaps go onto another friend’s to hang out there. We want to control their movements, to be safe and more importantly, we want them to be where they say they are going to be and be home on time. And we want to drop them places and pick them up at agreed times but often it's not what they want us to do. They want to be responsible and they want to be trusted so do we let them? Read full article

I live in a small town way out in the country where – it’s true – debates about helicopter parenting are pretty rare. Here packs of sunburned kids ride helmetless around our winding roads, the wind blowing through their sweaty hair, the sun reflecting off their freckled faces...When Catherine Deveny decries helicopter parents and all their associated neuroses, she avoids the very persistent reality for many mothers: that of an oppressive sense of responsibility. Read full article

This morning, two things are on my mind: the mental health of the two young radio hosts at the centre of the prank; and how children are digesting and understanding the Royal Prank news story...how have your children reacted to the news? Has it prompted you to talk about suicide with your children? Or have you had conversations about culpability? Or the role of the international media in the Royal Prank? Or ethics? Read full article